The impact of urban expansion and agricultural legacies on trace metal accumulation in fluvial and lacustrine sediments of the lower Chesapeake Bay basin, USA.

The progressively declining ecological condition of the Chesapeake Bay is attributed to the influx of contaminants associated with sediment loads supplied by its largest tributaries. The continued urban expansion in the suburbs of Virginia cities, modern agricultural activities in the Shenandoah Valley, the anthropogenic and climate driven changes in fluvial system hydrodynamics and their potential associated impacts on trace metals enrichment in the bay's tributaries necessitate constant environmental monitoring of these important water bodies. Eight (210)Pb and (137)Cs dated sediment cores and seventy two sediment grab samples were used to analyze the spatial and temporal distributions of Al, Ca, Mg, Cr, Cd, As, Se, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe in the waterways of the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay basin. The sediment cores for trace metal historical fluctuation analysis were obtained in lower fluvial-estuarine environments and reservoirs in the upper reaches of the basin. The trace metal profiles revealed high basal enrichment factors (EF) of between 0.05 and 40.24, which are interpreted to represent early nineteenth century agricultural activity and primary resource extraction. Surficial enrichment factors on both cores and surface grab samples ranged from 0.01 (Cu) to 1421 (Cd), with Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd enrichments a plausible consequence of modern urban expansion and industrial development along major transportation corridors. Contemporary surficial enrichments of As, Se, and Cr also ranged between 0 and 137, with the higher values likely influenced by lithological and atmospheric sources. Pearson correlation analyses suggest mining and agricultural legacies, coupled with aerosol deposition, are responsible for high metal concentrations in western lakes and headwater reaches of fluvial systems, while metal accumulation in estuarine reaches of the major rivers can be attributed to urban effluence and the remobilization of legacy sediments.